Tags: e*trade

09/12/10

Well, back at the end of June, nearing my 4th year with Kansas State University, I decided it was time that I rollover my old retirement funds to TIAA-CREF with my new retirement funds.

I don't remember it being quite the hassle before, or there being fees ($75). But, I guess that's what I get for doing an Rollover IRA with TD Ameritrade.

I vaguely recall my first rollover, when I started working in the US it was a contract to hire situation, where while I was contract I was an employee of another company...and my benefits where from that company. When I finally became a full time employee, benefits switched over. So, having a whole lot in my first/old 401k, I rolled it over. It was a hassle, because they didn't direct rollover...but cut me a distribution check, etc. But, I was able to straighten in it out and the whole of my first 401k joined with my second 401k.

Move forward to spring 2006....have been laid off a few months from my now previous job. And, I'm watching share counts within my 401k drop faster than they did when I was an employee. Not share value, but fractional shares going away with no explanation on the statements. Guess that means they don't want me to stay with them....gotta find me somewhere else to put my 401k.

Since I had two online brokerage accounts, E*Trade and HarrisDirect. Except that E*Trade then acquired HarrisDirect, so I then got TD Waterhouse (which then became TD Ameritrade). Now the only reason I had E*Trade, was because it was a requirement to participate in my previous employer's ESPP. OTOH, it was HarrisDirect that I was able to get to handle my ESOP. After I was laid off, I had a limited time to exercise my remaining ESOP....so I got TD Waterhouse handle that.

Being happy with TD Waterhouse, and mixed about E*Trade....I decided that I would consolidate to TD Waterhouse/Ameritrade.

So, with that move...I decided that I would park my 401k in a Rollover IRA at TD Ameritrade. I picked a few funds, applied a pie chart and tweaked the purchases to whole shares and minimal cash left over. I couldn't go 100% into funds...unlike 401k/403b/etc. plans. $45,826.33.

At Kansas State University, they have a mandatory pension plan....where after 1 year of service, you are forced to contribute 5.5% of your salary to one of the two available providers (ING & TIAA-CREF)....I went with TIAA-CREF. For my 5.5% mandatory contribution, I get a match of 8.5%.

I had intended that this would the when I would also seek to rollover my rollover IRA to TIAA-CREF. But, I kept putting it off....

Finally, back in early July, looking over the mid year statements...I decided that I should see about making it happen. I checked with TD Ameritrade, and found that for transfer out to external for my IRA...I needed to initiate the transfer with the external. So, I checked with TIAA-CREF, and opted to schedule a meeting to review my investments and do the paperwork on doing the rollover.

I was interested to know that most of the recommended funds were already the ones I had, though the mandatory plan has fewer choices than the voluntary plan. Where the latter is where my additional contributions to retirement would go above the mandatory 5.5% (+8.5%). Some of the recommendations were the same, others were different. I opted to go with the recommendations (with minor tweaks, due to fund restrictions) for both plans. And, then it was wait for my funds in the TD Ameritrade Rollover IRA to move.

I watched and I watched, but nothing was happening. Eventually I got letters from TIAA-CREF saying they were being ignored. Eventually I contacted TD Ameritrade to ask what's up. And, they responded that they don't accept external requests so they were ignoring TIAA-CREF and they weren't going to tell me.

But, they did at least tell me what I needed to do to make it happen. It was liquidate my holdings and then instruct them to make the transfer. So, I sold everything in my Rollover IRA...resulting in $40,008.06. And, then asked them to do the transfer. In the response they wrote that they are sending a reject letter to TIAA-CREFs request, and doing the requested transfer by check draft.

Later the account disappeared online, and Quicken couldn't deal with that....had to remove and readd.

And, then I got notification that a check for $39,933.06 was being drawn up and later that it had been sent by First Class Mail. So, they hit me with a $75 fee somewhere....

I had considered giving up on this whole process, but when I learned it was TD Ameritrade that was giving me the run around in this process...it made me more certain that I needed to complete it. Wonder what I'm going to do with my brokerage account now?

I guess I kind of expected that I would get a notice or something from TIAA-CREF when they got receipt of my money...but was online checking my various accounts (this month's statement for my Commerce Bank account had landed, and I realized that I hadn't hit all the other sites to get my recent statements....) When I got on to TIAA-CREF, I saw that my balance was high, which suggested that the voluntary part had funds now. Found that it happened on September 7th, already have a dividend for one of the funds on the 8th....

Got a paper statement from TD Ameritrade the other day too...since online access went away once they closed it. Nothing on it about the missing $75. Last entry is the Delivered Transaction of $40,007.78.

Now instead of subjecting some poor random forum to a long rambling thought, I will try to consolidate those things into this blog where they can be more easily ignored profess to be collected thoughts from my mind.